Written Stories:
1. "I was in 4th grade. Teachers didn’t tell us about the attack, but let us know an event at the local skate rink hat evening was cancelled. A rumor started that someone got stabbed at the skate rink and that’s why the event got cancelled. I found out about the attacks when I got home from school."
- Reddit user /u/bourbon76
- Reddit user /u/bourbon76
2. "I was fresh out of high school, living in a tiny North Carolina town with my boyfriend while attending college in Charlotte. We heard the news on the car radio and immediately drove home and watched the towers fall on TV - horrified even more when we learned it wasn't a horrible accident.
My boyfriend and I took our car and went driving again - just wandering lonely country back roads in a sort of stunned silence. We eventually parked somewhere quiet and sat there talking somberly about our thoughts and fears. We worried about Charlotte being attacked and if we should go to classes in the coming weeks. We worried about the US going to war and the chance of him being drafted. We worried about what a war-time world would be like, "War" was Nazis and Allied Forces in a distant past on a continent far away... not enemies that flew planes right above our heads."
- Davena Oaks
My boyfriend and I took our car and went driving again - just wandering lonely country back roads in a sort of stunned silence. We eventually parked somewhere quiet and sat there talking somberly about our thoughts and fears. We worried about Charlotte being attacked and if we should go to classes in the coming weeks. We worried about the US going to war and the chance of him being drafted. We worried about what a war-time world would be like, "War" was Nazis and Allied Forces in a distant past on a continent far away... not enemies that flew planes right above our heads."
- Davena Oaks
3. "On September 11, 2001, I turned exactly 11.
I remember we had just finished my religious studies class. When the principal came in and told us to turn on the TV. We didn’t have much time to realize exactly what was going on before we watched live as the second plane hit.
When I returned home, my mom was unsure if I heard the news. She asked if school went well and if I wanted to open my gifts. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t excited about ripping open gifts. And I went upstairs and just sat.
Since then birthdays feel very hollow to me.
In 2002 my parents took me to NYC to see Ground Zero. There were these construction walls surrounding it that to my 12 year old self seemed to go on for miles and they all had messages.
My father told me to leave one and to mention my birthday so I did just that. I wrote,
'My birthday is 9/11' - Jesse"
- Jesse K.
I remember we had just finished my religious studies class. When the principal came in and told us to turn on the TV. We didn’t have much time to realize exactly what was going on before we watched live as the second plane hit.
When I returned home, my mom was unsure if I heard the news. She asked if school went well and if I wanted to open my gifts. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t excited about ripping open gifts. And I went upstairs and just sat.
Since then birthdays feel very hollow to me.
In 2002 my parents took me to NYC to see Ground Zero. There were these construction walls surrounding it that to my 12 year old self seemed to go on for miles and they all had messages.
My father told me to leave one and to mention my birthday so I did just that. I wrote,
'My birthday is 9/11' - Jesse"
- Jesse K.
4. "I was in middle school and they told the teachers to turn off the TV as it was too graphic. Such an important part of our history, schools should not keep us from experiencing those things no matter the grade.
The teachers weren't too happy about having to comply but they did."
- Reddit user /u/DLMckenzie2004
The teachers weren't too happy about having to comply but they did."
- Reddit user /u/DLMckenzie2004
5. "I was in detention doing bear crawls and the teacher turned the news off because we were paying attention to the TV instead of doing our punishment."
- Redditor user /u/GRANITO
- Redditor user /u/GRANITO
6. "Chapel Hill, NC. I had an 8 am class that morning, so I found out that a plane had hit when I got back to my dorm and saw my roommate glued to the TV. We watched the second plane hit.
The professor of my next class told us his wife worked in one of the twin tower, so class was canceled. We later found out she'd had an audition that morning that she hadn't told him about and was fine. It seemed everyone I knew there had a close-call story.
My parking pass was for a parking lot pretty far from my dorm, so I didn't usually drive anywhere mid-week. On Friday I got to my
car and found I'd forgotten to display my pass. I'd received 2 parking tickets: Monday, Sept 10 and early morning Tuesday, Sept 11. They didn't give out tickets the rest of the week. Everything stopped that week."
- Reddit user /u/gentle-and-just
The professor of my next class told us his wife worked in one of the twin tower, so class was canceled. We later found out she'd had an audition that morning that she hadn't told him about and was fine. It seemed everyone I knew there had a close-call story.
My parking pass was for a parking lot pretty far from my dorm, so I didn't usually drive anywhere mid-week. On Friday I got to my
car and found I'd forgotten to display my pass. I'd received 2 parking tickets: Monday, Sept 10 and early morning Tuesday, Sept 11. They didn't give out tickets the rest of the week. Everything stopped that week."
- Reddit user /u/gentle-and-just
7. "I was 5 about to turn 6, in first grade. I don’t really remember my teachers or anything making a big deal, they had computers in the classroom so I’m sure they probably knew, but it was just a regular school day for me. Maybe the principal told them not to show us or say anything.
My only vivid memory on 9/11 was my mom later going to one of those quarter newspaper dispenser things with me and buying a newspaper, I saw a building with a big explosion fireball at the top, I was like huh, okay maybe my mom really wants to see this Hollywood movie that’s on the cover. We still have that newspaper in our guest bedroom closet."
- Reddit user /u/Annjenette
My only vivid memory on 9/11 was my mom later going to one of those quarter newspaper dispenser things with me and buying a newspaper, I saw a building with a big explosion fireball at the top, I was like huh, okay maybe my mom really wants to see this Hollywood movie that’s on the cover. We still have that newspaper in our guest bedroom closet."
- Reddit user /u/Annjenette
8. "Was at Ft. Bragg. My unit went on full lock-down by 11:00 a.m. We were prepping weapons and load outs by 1:00 p.m.
We waited for everyone to get everything together from the higher ups then flew to Europe that evening."
- Reddit user /u/kcsapper
We waited for everyone to get everything together from the higher ups then flew to Europe that evening."
- Reddit user /u/kcsapper
9. "I was a Kindergartner in Cary, NC and my mom kept me and my older brother home from school.
I remember being in my pumpkin pajamas in my mom's bedroom when we saw what was happening on the news. I told my older brother we'd be safe because we could just 'crawl under momma's bed and hide!' and he said,
'No, they'll blow us to smithereens!'
That's all I remember from that day but I can still hear my brother's voice in my head every time I think about it."
- Alexandria S.
I remember being in my pumpkin pajamas in my mom's bedroom when we saw what was happening on the news. I told my older brother we'd be safe because we could just 'crawl under momma's bed and hide!' and he said,
'No, they'll blow us to smithereens!'
That's all I remember from that day but I can still hear my brother's voice in my head every time I think about it."
- Alexandria S.